Here in Sarasota and Manatee County arrests for possession and sale of cocaine seem to be on the rise. That could be because there is more cocaine in town or because of increased law enforcement efforts. When the quantity exceeds certain amounts, the State will file “trafficking in cocaine” which jacks up the penalties. Another technique the police use is to try and get someone to sell cocaine within a thousand feet of a school also to increase the sentence. If they are successful in making a “buy”, they will also go back to the seller over and over to run up the charges and increase the sentencing guidelines. If they can make a cocaine bust and get cocaine and guns to together, sometimes they file armed trafficking, again to run up the penalties

With the new technology, police can install surveillance cameras in high crime areas that can go un-noticed for months to watch for “street dealers” and unusual activity between cars and people walking up to cars. The most common cocaine arrest is for possession and this generally occurs when the police find cocaine on a person they are arresting for something else. A person may get arrested for DUI or arrested for driving on a suspended license, and when they go to tow the vehicle and inventory the car, they often find drugs. As a Sarasota criminal defense lawyer, I have had cases where a woman gets arrested for a small quantity of cocaine found in her purse she has totally forgotten about. It may have been there from partying weeks or months before. You know how cluttered women’s purse can be. The same goes for men. It may be in a jacket or pants pocket, totally forgotten from months before. As a Sarasota defense lawyer, I have had cases where a relative or friend borrows a car, a coat or piece of clothing only to get arrested for something they had no idea was in their possession.

What is “Possession’? You can have actual possession where the drug is on you, and you can get charged with “constructive possession”, when the police find cocaine, pot, or some other drug in an area under your control, such as a car or bedroom.

Do not assume that because you have been arrested you will be found guilty. The car stop may have been illegal. The search may have been illegal. If there was more than one person in the car you may have a good defense. Before you take drug court or some diversion program of probation, you really need to talk to a good criminal defense lawyer.

Fentanyl
kills people and is much deadlier than heroin and there was a spike in deaths
in Bradenton and Sarasota. The
underlying problem is addiction and the true answer is to treat drug addiction
as a medical issue. If you take the
money out of it, there would be no drug dealers. In the meantime, society continues to deal
with this in the wrong way.

]]>1011How much of a prison sentence to you actually serve?https://www.sarasotacriminaldefender.com/uncategorized/how-much-of-a-prison-sentence-to-you-actually-serve/
Thu, 06 Feb 2020 15:05:54 +0000https://www.sarasotacriminaldefender.com/?p=1004Continue reading "How much of a prison sentence to you actually serve?"]]>Aiken and O’Halloran of Sarasota Peter D. Aiken 941-366-3506

February 6 2020

How much of a prison sentence to you actually serve?

Currently, if you are sentenced to
State prison, you will server 85 per cent of the sentence, less any time you
spent in jail on the charges before conviction.
There is a move to reduce the amount of time to 65%, instead of the
current 85%. Sheriff Wells of Manatee
County is leading the opposition to this proposed change involving what they
call the “Truth in Sentencing” law.

As a State and Federal Criminal Defense Attorney in Florida, In Florida, it is sometimes difficult to know what you are facing in actual prison time under the Florida sentencing guidelines. In some instances the State can manipulate the guidelines and run your sentence up just by the way they word the charge. For example, here in Sarasota, in child pornography cases, the State always charges 40 second degree felonies in an attempt to force the courts to impose what in actuality is a life sentence for just looking at pictures or videos. In other cases, there is a minimum mandatory sentence that leaves the Court no choice in imposing sentence. It takes a really good experienced criminal lawyer to give you a projection of how much time you will actually serve. As a Sarasota and Manatee criminal defense lawyer, I try and give clients a good estimate of the actual time…but it is just a projection that can change as the law changes. Sometimes it is more and sometimes it is less.

It is also difficult to know how much time you will actually serve in County jail. The most you can get in County jail is one year. How much of that your actually serve varies from County to County. It depends on the various “programs” in each individual county. For example, you will serve more of your sentence in Manatee County than you will in Sarasota County. It also makes a difference if you are sentenced in Federal Court. As a former Federal prosecutor, I can tell you, generally the Federal time is “softer” than State prison. The conditions are more civilized. For example, if you end up in a Federal “Camp” you may do 85% of your sentence but be eligible for half way house as you get closer to the end of your sentence. In the Federal system, if you get a “camp”, it is a lot like being in the military. Most of the Federal “camps” are converted military bases and the conditions are way better than State prison.

As a State and Federal defense lawyer, I would rather have a client serve the sentence in Federal prison than in State prison. Many of the criminal defense lawyers have little experience in Federal matters and not all criminal defense lawyers practice in both State and Federal Courts. I recently had a client who was facing 8 years in State prison end up with 15 months in Federal “prison camp”. That is a huge difference for the exact same conduct. It makes a huge difference as to whether or not you are in the State or Federal system.

]]>1004Probation Violationshttps://www.sarasotacriminaldefender.com/sex-offender-probation-violations/probation-violations/
Wed, 22 Jan 2020 22:31:31 +0000https://www.sarasotacriminaldefender.com/?p=1000Continue reading "Probation Violations"]]>More people get arrested
in Sarasota and Manatee County for a violation of probation than any other
reason. The County jail is full of people being held without bond for a
violation of probation. Probation, sometimes is a trap for the unwary.
You may have taken a plea deal to avoid trial or have simply followed the
Public Defender’s advice and set yourself up for failure.

Technical Violation

You do not have to
commit a new crime to get arrested. If you do not pay your court costs,
if you do not pay the fees for supervision imposed by the Court, if you do not
pay restitution or if you simply miss an appointment with your probation officer
a warrant will be issued for your arrest. Simply not having money to pay
can get you arrested and thrown back in jail. Our Sarasota and Bradenton
criminal defense firm has been defending probation violations for years.
Do not wait to be arrested. If you have a problem with your probation
officer, call today and we may be able to work it out before you are picked up
for a violation.New Crime Violations. If you get arrested on a new charge while
you are on probation, your probation officer will have you rearrested for a
probation violation and you will sit in jail waiting for a hearing. The
new offense may be incredibly minor but if it occurred while you were on
supervision, you have huge problem. We may be able to convince the judge
to release you while you wait for a probation violation hearing. Any
conviction for a new offense violates your probation and subjects you to time
in either County jail or State prison. Your sentencing guidelines may
have been computed incorrectly or you simply may have not committed the new
crime or violation. Do not wait until your hearing. Call us now for
a free consultation.

Sex Offender Probation
Violations

A violation of sex
offender probation can land you in State prison. Often, electronic
monitors malfunction and register a false report. Often, a probation
officer fails to write down the details of your request or report to him.
Often the officer is simply out to get you and is searching for any reason to
violate you. You may have missed a deadline or appointment or forgotten
to call in or come in past curfew. You may have been forced to move
suddenly and not had time to report the new address. The probation
officers generally are not there to help you and some simply look for some
excuse to violate you put you back in jail. A violation must be willful
and substantial and we can many times convince the Court that your situation
was accidental or unintentional. If a loved one is in jail or if you have
been arrested on a violation of probation call today.

As a Sarasota criminal defense lawyer, I can’t tell you how many times I have represented housewives, grandmothers and other “normal” people who make a mistake and give in to temptation. Most of the time, if the person has not prior arrest or conviction the case can result in “Diversion” taking the case out of the criminal court system if the person takes an “anti-theft” class. Even though petit theft is a minor offense it really helps to have a good experience lawyer. If your case is not handled properly you may end up with a conviction that will haunt you later in life when and employer runs your record before hiring you. Many times, if it is a first arrest, you can get it expunged if you don’t end up with a conviction.

If you have been charged with a battery in Sarasota or Manatee County it can have serious consequences. The most common charge is what is referred to as “Simple Battery”. Quite simply it is a non-consensual touching. These mostly occur in the context of a domestic situation between and husband and wife, a boyfriend and girlfriend of relatives that live together. When 911 is called over a domestic disturbance, generally, someone is going to jail. The police are afraid that if they do not arrest someone and the argument later gets violent and someone gets killed or hurt they will be sued. The battery does not have to be violent. I once defended a man for throwing cold water on his spouse who was berating him and arguing with him. Sometimes, the man simply tries to restrain a wife or girlfriend who is attacking him. The police generally side with the woman and hear her side of the story first. The reality is that many times, it is the woman who started the disturbance and the woman who attacked the man. A domestic battery conviction has serious consequences, including the right to carry a firearm, buy a firearm and sometimes possess a firearm if you end up on probation. Most times, if the battery does not result in injury, there is no jail time but the person who pleads ends up with 26 weeks of anger management compelled attendance.

I have found that generally, there
are two sides to every story, and often the police make a snap decision and
believe the first person they talk to.
Generally, that is the woman. The
decision should not be based on gender, but often it is.

Over the years, I have defended hundreds of domestic battery cases. An arrest for domestic battery generally results in the judge at first appearance issuing a no contact order. This can spell disaster for the typical family. Often the family member did not want the other family member arrested. The no contact order often creates an enormous financial hardship because most families cannot afford two places to live. As a Sarasota criminal defense lawyer, often my role is to reunite the family and bring an end to the nightmare as quickly as possible. Most domestic arguments are the result of alcohol and a fit of anger. The State attorney often will want to go forward even if the parties have reconciled. Good representation is critical.

News flash guys….There are no teenage girls that are even remotely interested in having an older man teach them anything about sex. If you are on some dating site and someone mentions or hints that they are underage…terminate the conversation and block them. It is always an undercover cop. Some people mistakenly believe that if they ask “are you a cop?” the detectives have to respond truthfully. That is a total misconception. Police do not have to acknowledge they are law enforcement. The Internet sex stings in Sarasota, Manatee and Ft. Myers are not going to stop. ICAC, the Internet Crimes against Children entity, funds some local law enforcement activities and the locals have to produce results (arrests). Naïve young socially inept men are prime targets. I have defended over forty of these cases, including men with autism and other psychological weaknesses. The police target the weak lonely men that are rarely real predators. Never under any circumstances send a naked pic or a dick pic to anyone, even an adult. The Internet is a dangerous place.

There is now running an Internet scam where the scammer engages a man in chat and sends a naked pic of a teenager. Shortly thereafter, there is more contact by a person pretending to be law enforcement, threatening an arrest unless money is sent in the guise of some type of “Diversion” program. Another common scam is when a text or email is sent from what purports to be a parent who has “discovered” his or her child’s chat. The person will claim that they took the child’s phone or computer and destroyed it. They will hit you up for money. The police never, no never, ask for money. It is always a scam. Internet sex stings are not going to stop. It creates arrests and convictions and drives up crime statistics for law enforcement. A single sex sting can result in 20 to 30 arrests and convictions that render people sex offenders for life. What we need here in Florida is prevention. The police need to be in the middle schools warning young boys and girls of the danger of the Internet. Kids need to be warned that “sexting” with other kids can get them arrested. Our kids live in a dangerous Internet world and crime prevention should be a priority. In the average sting, 20 to 30 officers are involved with hundreds of man hours. That time could be better spent on educating our children, but that does not make for headlines. What a waste? The general public is in most instances misled about what really happens in these stings. There are hundreds of men in Florida prisons who fell for this entrapment ploy. The Internet Sex Stings need to stop.

]]>961Sarasota Sheriff Targets Gay Men in Park Arrestshttps://www.sarasotacriminaldefender.com/arrested/sarasota-sheriff-targets-gay-men-in-park-arrests/
Fri, 05 Apr 2019 13:23:11 +0000http://www.sarasotacriminaldefender.com/?p=951Continue reading "Sarasota Sheriff Targets Gay Men in Park Arrests"]]>About once a
year the Sheriff’s department makes a series of arrests of gay men in the South
Sarasota County Parks. The men are
charged with a variety of offenses involving lewd behavior or indecent exposure. The Sheriff’s press release usually claims
that the arrests are in response to citizen complaints. The arrests are an embarrassment to the men,
many of which have never been charged with a criminal offense in their
lives. In terms of profiles, most of the
men are white, middle to old aged, and otherwise crime free and arrest free.

The same goes for prostitution. It is the world’s oldest profession. If we had legalized prostitution, it would all but wipe out human trafficking. What man would risk getting an STD or getting rolled and robbed by a drug addict if he could go to a legitimate house of prostitution where the women are registered, regularly health inspected, and ply their profession in a safe and controlled environment. Men have been paying women for sex since the beginning of time. As a sex crime lawyer, it seems to me, that a better answer is to tolerate consensual sexual encounters between consenting adults.

]]>951Oxycontin Lawsuit Settled in Oklahoma for 270 Millionhttps://www.sarasotacriminaldefender.com/uncategorized/oxycontin-lawsuit-settled-in-oklahoma-for-270-million/
Wed, 27 Mar 2019 16:44:18 +0000http://www.sarasotacriminaldefender.com/?p=947Continue reading "Oxycontin Lawsuit Settled in Oklahoma for 270 Million"]]>The Oklahoma
settlement against Purdue Pharmaceutical will have no impact here in
Florida. Did you know that only one in
nine people addicted to an opiate gets treatment? Here in Sarasota and Bradenton, we are still
seeing people overdosing as a result of opiate addiction die needlessly. In the meantime, companies like Purdue
Pharmaceutical have made billions in obscene profits. This is not just an issue of law enforcement,
it is a health crisis. The Florida
legislature and law enforcement across the state still does not understand that
this is a medical issue, not just a “crime” issue. The real drug dealers are the huge
pharmaceutical companies that started this nightmare.

It was short sighted to simply create a drug database and crack down on the pill mills without dealing with all the people already addicted to the opiates. They simply switched to heroin and now Fentanyl. There are no old drug addicts. The all die. If you have a loved one addicted to an opiate, they need help and intervention. Unless and until the addiction problem is dealt with, law enforcement will never make a dent in the problem. As long as there is demand, someone will provide a supply.